


come on, babe

by unrequitedexistence



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AU, Broadway, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 21:52:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7192241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unrequitedexistence/pseuds/unrequitedexistence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Broadway AU. Astra used to share a dorm with Cat back in college. Astra’s latest play is now in town and they decide to get together for old times’ sake. Kara comes along and Chicago happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	come on, babe

**Author's Note:**

> I blame this on Laura Benanti, Bebe Neuwirth, the Tony awards and on the three ridiculous hours I spent sleeping. To be quite honest, I have no clue of what this is. It happened. It’s probably preposterous, an utter disaster, but I am sharing it. Hopefully you will at least laugh? Who knows.

“No, I’m no one’s wife. But, oh, I love my life. And all that jazz.”

‘All That Jazz’ from _Chicago the Musical_

Cat Grant was definitely not the kind of person who would be found waiting for _just about anyone_. Not only was her time precious, her patience wore thin at the same pace as seconds grew fatigued of queuing in the shadow of each another’s momentum.

Astra was _far_ from being _just about anyone_ , though. The two of them had shared a dorm, amongst other things, back in college. It had been one of those experiences that had given them an everlasting meaning to _once in a lifetime_ – also amongst other things that may or may not involve tattoos.

When seen together off stage, and away from their little sanctuary that had early on taken the shape of a bar that much more than appreciated their little _impromptu_ performances, people seemed to have a certain difficulty understanding how their relationship functioned. The struggle had been so _palpable_ and _thick_ that it had led to some _interesting_ , even if at first rather awkward, moments – _So, what exactly are you two_?

A lover of facts and a lover of fiction walk into a room. That’s bound to be the beginning of a hilarious joke, right? Or perhaps a song. Oh, and definitely a choreography.

Two words: _musical theatre_.

“ _Old_ habits die hard.”

Cat recognized the voice immediately. Oh, the little edge of attitude at the enunciation of the word _old_. Anyone else would have been five seconds way from a death glare, but again, Astra was not _anyone else_.

Instead of immediately turning around in her booth, Cat Grant took a sip of the glass of bourbon that had been decorating her hand as a sign of _I am waiting for someone or else I would not be having a serious drink_. She allowed the amber liquid to caress her throat before swallowing her growing smile and making her booth slowly spin so that her eyes could meet the familiar silhouette of her friend.

“Some should have definitely died _harder_.” Cat replied after having allowed her eyes to travel over every inch, from head to toe and back again, of the beyond stunning woman that now stood right in front of her.

“You know what they say, _darling_ , a leopard can't change its spots.” Astra remarked with a knowing grin.

Kara Danvers, who had begged her aunt to skip her _little college reunion_ , had never met Cat Grant before. Having been a few steps behind Astra, she had missed the words that had been exchanged and the very _particular_ way they had been swapped. All she had witnessed had been the look Cat had given Astra, as if she were undressing her aunt with her eyes – little did she know that Cat had seen it all before, but that’s a conversation for some other time –, and she certainly hadn’t approved. There was something charged in the air and Kara mistakenly took it for arrogance.

“Is there a problem here?” Kara asked as she came to stand right next to Astra’s side, wrapping a protective arm around the older woman’s waist and pulling her close to her. They did this often, pretending to be each other’s lover so they could walk out on uncomfortable situations unharmed.

“It depends.” Cat started, not giving Astra enough time to intervene and explain what was happening to her niece. Without even acknowledging the young woman’s existence with a look, she continued. “Do you want there to be?”

Kara felt her pulse quicken at the way the words had abandoned Cat’s dark red lips laced with the golden warmth of bourbon, they were soft yet edgy… like _velvet_.

Astra broke into a laugh as she felt Kara’s arm tense up around her waist.

“ _Down_ , girls. There’s no need for that.” Astra said as she nudged her niece with her elbow. “Kara, this is Cat Grant. Cat, this is my beloved niece, Kara.”

“As far as first impressions go, a clear demonstration of power at such a young age definitely makes it to my top ten.” Cat’s eyes found Kara’s as she extended her hand. “Pleasure.”

Kara instantly noticed two things. First, Cat had not studied her from head to toe, as she had done with Astra just moments ago, either out of respect or simple indifference – it troubled Kara that not knowing which option applied was bothering her. Second, even though there was undoubtedly amusement in Cat’s eyes, there was no malice in them.

“Can’t say I agree.” Kara found herself saying, standing her ground, as her hand met Cat’s halfway. She blamed the charged moment for the shiver that had instantly gone down her spine the moment their hands had touched.

“Can’t say I care.” Cat replied, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Brazen.” She added as she reluctantly let go of Kara’s hand. Nowadays it was rare to find someone who approached her without showing any signs resembling fear. There had been confidence in Kara’s handshake. It was… _refreshing_. “You have taught her well, Ash.”

“I did learn from the best.” Astra sat down on the empty booth next to Cat’s. “Remember when we first met?”

“Am I going to need a drink before hearing this story?” Kara asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. Her aunt hadn’t told her much about what had exactly _gone down_ between the two of them. Their chemistry tasted of _adrenalin_ though, and Kara was starting to _feel_ exactly how addictive it could be.

“You mean when you walked into our shared bathroom and pulled the shower curtain open even though it was very much perceptible that the water was running?”

Kara, who had been given a beer by her aunt, almost chocked on the sip she had just taken.

“You were singing my _favorite_ song.” Astra stated as if such declaration could perfectly, and rationally, justify her actions. “Actually, let me rephrase that. You were _killing it_ at singing my favorite song. I had to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.” She added with a shrug before trying her drink. “In my defense, I had been told that I would be sharing a dorm with a boring journalism student.”

“Don’t believe everything you are told.” Cat said before turning back around so that she could ask the bartender for another glass of bourbon.

“So you _told_ me.” Astra observed with a laugh, the irony of the moment very much present in her voice tone. “I must say though, to this day I have yet to run into someone even half as confident as you acted when naked.”

Kara almost chocked. _Again_.

 _Too much information_. At least about her aunt’s adventures, that’s for sure. About Cat, though? Perhaps not nearly as enough as she would like.

“I believe I tried to explain it to you back then, but for some reason you didn’t seem to be paying that much attention to what I was _saying_.” She started suggestively, causing Astra to shake her head in amusement. “Being without my clothes on is, for me, definitely _not_ the same as being nude. There are things far more frightening... and revealing.”

Kara was officially intrigued. Even if it seemed that Astra and Cat were playing a very well-rehearsed game, there were hints to a reality that had caught her attention. She was _interested_ and she _wanted_ to know more.

“Care to elaborate?”

Cat eyed the young woman, trying to decide whether the curiosity was real, a possible joke, or downright pretended interest. People had many times before tried to entice her out of her reserved shell, asking further questions as a way of establishing a connection they would then try to use in their favor.

“ _Mmmh_.” She considered the situation as she brought the glass to her lips once more, her eyes never abandoning Kara’s expectant ones. “Being on stage, for instance.” She said once she decided that it was safe _enough_. Kara was, after all, Astra’s niece, and Astra was very much aware that Cat would do anything for her. All she had to do was ask.

“ _You_?” Kara’s look was a blend of disbelief and utter astonishment. Even though Cat was turning out to be a revelation, she would have never, even in her wildest dreams, imagined her up on stage. She looked too poised, too self-possessed, too… _put together_. There was nothing, not even one strand of hair, out of place. Did she even sweat like a normal person?

“What exactly have you told her about _me_?” Cat asked as she raised an eyebrow at a very entertained-looking Astra.

Kara decided to take the opportunity to study the older woman more closely as she suddenly switched her attention back to her aunt. Cat was wearing a black pencil skirt that seemed to be more like a second skin than anything else. Tightly tucked, a somewhat transparent burgundy blouse over which she wore a blazer that seemed to have been made _for_ her. And on her feet…

Kara gulped as her eyes travelled down Cat’s short, yet endless looking, and beyond defined legs. _Dangerous_ looking heels completed the outfit that Kara was positive could be considered a national threat.

Cat looked like an office shark, not a stage actress. Then again, what was life if not a play of many parts one is supposed to perform to survive?

“I might have mentioned your ‘queen of all media’ and ‘most powerful _person_ in National city’ personas.” Astra replied as she gestured with her hands towards both of them. “I thought it would be more _fun_ for her to find out on her own.”

“Is it so hard to imagine?” Cat asked, reclaiming the attention she thought she had lost, but that had instead been simply diverted to parts of her other than her face.

_Hard? Sure. Impossible? Definitely not. Dangerous? Oh yes._

“Has Chicago been on Broadway for twenty years?” Using a reference as a way of avoiding confrontation, that was one of Kara’s favorite techniques of diversion.

“ _Touché_.” Cat said as she raised her glass in Kara’s direction. There was no point in pushing the buttons of someone not interested in being pushed, was there? Besides, Cat was very much aware of how strange her past sounded, even when coming out of her own mouth. Sometimes it felt… _foreigner_.

“Speaking of Chicago…” Astra stood up as the first notes of _All That Jazz_ filled the room, replacing the loud conversation that had till that very moment been packing the bar with expectant silence.

“ _You didn’t_.”

“Oh yes, _I did_.” Astra said proudly as she started slowly walking backwards towards the stage. “Afraid of what the media will have to say about you in the morning?”

“Oh please.” Cat rolled her eyes as Astra made sure everyone in the room became very aware of the fact that they were all waiting for Cat so that the impromptu show could start. “I am the one who tells them what to say.” She added, still not moving, not even an inch, from her seat. It truly didn’t matter to her that they were all waiting. As far as she was concerned, the sun could refuse to rise in the morning and she would still choose not to sing. She was certainly not going to put on a show for the sake of a third party, even if said _third party_ included Astra.

Unless…

“I _dare_ you.” There was a twinkle in Astra’s eyes that told Cat that she had been expecting her refusal. She had probably even been praying for her to say no so that she could dare her in public. Astra was addicted to the rush of a good challenge, especially when there was an audience.

 _Challenge accepted_.

“Oh, you know you shouldn’t have. I _own_ Chicago.”

Kara’s eyes refused to abandon Cat’s figure as the other woman stood up from her booth with purpose. The word _dare_ had instantly turned the older woman into something that Kara could only describe as magnetizing. _And her voice_ … Oh, her voice had gone so sultry that Kara would bet all her money on the fact that half the audience was already melting under her evident power of attraction.

Cat removed her blazer and discarded her shoes before turning towards Kara.

“Look after these for me, will you?”

For a moment Kara could only nod for an answer and the other woman was clearly showing off just how unmistakably pleased she was with the effect she was having on her. Kara felt like she was _pleasantly_ drowning, whatever that meant.

“ _Come on, babe, why don’t we paint the town_?”

Cat arrived on stage just in time for the _all that jazz_ that the two sang in unison. She had by then untucked her blouse and undone two extra buttons. She looked… _fierce_.

Kara was absolutely speechless. She had never, in her entire twenty four years of existence and theatre obsession, seen anything as _sensual_ , if not even _erotic_ , as what she was currently witnessing. There were less than zero filters between Astra and Cat. There was an intimacy to them that made Kara feel like a voyeur. It was _thrilling_ beyond reason.

The audience seemed to be sharing a _high_ that had their eyes glued on the two bodies that glowed together on stage. They were so unbelievable tuned into one another. It was… _moving_ , in many different and _interesting_ ways.

They were sharing a part that had been originally written for one and they were performing _as one_. One couldn’t tell where one’s movement started and the other’s ended. At some point a choir had joined in, but it was impossible to let go of those two voices, those two bodies, that seemed to _melt_ together.

 _Pure_. _Liquid_. _Sex_.

Kara had been in such a daze she had missed the standing ovation, her brain refusing to register anything over that moment. How was she ever supposed to let go of what had certainly been the performance of a lifetime? The word _exceptional_ was tickling at her throat, wanting to come out as an undeniable affirmation. She found herself wanting, no, _craving_ for more.

She was swiftly brought back from her little reverie by a shot glass being pushed into her hand.

“To Fred Ebb.” Astra said as she raised her glass.

“To Bob Fosse.” Cat added as she mirrored Astra’s movements.

“And all that jazz.” Kara finished before throwing her head back and swallowing her drink. “You two...” She started, still trying to catch her breath. “Are an absolute _crime_ together. How could you ever leave something like _that_ behind?”

Astra and Cat exchanged a glance, not really knowing at whom the question had been directed. Also, neither of them knew how to explain the reason why without sharing information that was meant to never leave their tiny circle of two.

“Life tends to happen when you become too busy making other plans.” Cat offered after a moment, her eyes meeting Astra’s as the other woman promptly reached out for her hand.

“Enough of the past.” Astra said after a minute of silence, squeezing Cat’s hand gently before letting go and reaching for her drink again. “I think it’s about time you showed us what you can do. We certainly deserve to be _entertained_ after that.”

Kara raised an eyebrow, her eyes going from Astra to Cat, and back again, before settling down on Cat. Even though there was now a hint of sadness in her face, she looked undeniably radiant. It was almost impossible to look away, let alone _walk_ away. And that was why, visibly and painfully groaning, Kara had to _make_ herself abandon close proximity.

If she was going to be rendered speechless, she might as well attempt to return the favor in the very same currency, no?

She approached a few women on her way to the stage, women who Astra and Cat could see seemed beyond excited by whatever the young girl had just suggested. It took them a couple of minutes and then they started a rendition of the “Cell Block Tango” that left the word _explicit_ in the air, in _thick_ **bold** lettering.

“She’s feisty.” Cat said as her eyes followed Kara’s movements. She took yet another sip of bourbon and allowed it to remain in her mouth for a moment before letting it follow its path down her throat. Her voice sounded huskier due to the singing and so did the thoughts now playing loudly in her head. This was hazardous territory.

And why did she have a feeling she had invited specifically to walk through it?

“She’s not usually like this.” Astra fed Cat the line as she too watched her niece attentively, noticing how the younger woman seemed to be staring back, but not exactly focusing on her. _Mission accomplished_. “I guess you hit a nerve.”

Oh, _there it was_. Astra had a script in her possession that she didn’t seem willing to share with the public yet.

“Don’t I always?” Cat asked quietly as she caught Kara’s eyes, following their lead until the very moment they arrived back at their side.

“That was incredibly…” Cat started, carefully measuring her words as they seemed to be running way more freely than usual in her mind due to both the bourbon and the rather cathartic performance. “ _Pulsating_.”

“Thank you…?”

If it had been anyone else, Cat would have made her disapproval evident at the _half question half affirmation_ tone, but Kara had somehow – oh, we wonder how! – found her way into Cat’s very _special_ list. She was officially _not anyone else_.

“Cherish those words, Kara. Cat’s compliments come around even more rarely than Tony awards!”

Even though Astra was obviously joking, something told Kara that there was some truth in what had been just said. Cat didn’t seem to be the kind of woman who _wasted_ her time. Instead, she seemed to invest it as if her minutes were stocks on Wall Street. She couldn’t help but wonder exactly how much she had made Cat win that night…

“Oh please, don’t be like that. I terrify people for a living. Unless I am going on a blind date, I prefer to abandon that façade at the office.”

“You don’t terrify me.” Kara heard herself say, Astra and Cat instantly turning and focusing their attention on her. “You…” She started, noticing how Cat leaned towards her direction almost imperceptibly. “ _Intrigue_ me.”

Kara witnessed as the smile grew on Cat’s face, eventually reaching her eyes that Kara had yet to decide if were green or brown. It was a _breathtaking_ sight. If that ended up being the only thing she ever did in life, making Cat _truly_ smile, she would sign off as having accomplished her mission on Earth as it would already have been more than worth it.

“Sadly, I am afraid that is my queue.” Cat’s voice was still hoarse, but there was now something gentler about it… and the smallest hint of disappointment. “Quit while you are ahead. Isn’t that what you used to say, Ash?” She added with a wink as she stood up from her booth and put her blazer back on. “This was fantastic, but I do have an empire to run in the early morning and a teenager to wake up in time for school.”

“You are not getting rid of us that easily.” Astra said as she stood up to hug her friend goodbye. “We are going to be in town for the next couple of weeks and your _delightful_ company will be _certainly_ required.”

“I want calligraphy and scented envelopes sent to my office, thank you.” Cat searched her purse for one of her contact cards.

“Won’t that get the rumor mill started?”

“ _Exactly_.” Cat replied enthusiastically.

“You _devious_ mind.”

“You love me.” The tone was cheeky but the hug they shared was heartfelt. It had been _too_ _long_.

“Guilty as charged.” Astra pulled back after a moment, placing a kiss on Cat’s face before sitting back down.

Cat then turned to face Kara, extending the calling card she had fetched from her purse. “I would really like the pick that millennial mind of yours about something. _When_ your aunt bores you to death, come and find me.”

The way Kara reacted to Cat’s card told her that she was absolutely right about her assessment of the young woman’s personality. Even though she exuded confidence, both on stage and through odd, possibly threatening, situations, deep down inside she was insecure. She had no idea of how talented she was and of how rare it was to nowadays find someone as genuine.

“Nothing too intrusive, I promise.” Cat knew that Kara performed for love, not fame, hence the question of _how_ she could possibly have left it all behind. Kara didn’t seem to accept the idea of doing something just for the sake of _doing something_ , which was absolutely fantastic. She wanted to be meaningful, to _change_ the world through her art.

Cat had witnessed it first-hand. She could do it, she had the spark needed to inspire. She just needed a place to broadcast it, a way of reaching the audience at their homes and that was something that Cat could certainly help her with.

“Sure. Why not?” Kara said as she accepted the card, her fingers brushing against Cat’s for a moment. It had only been brief, but it had been more than enough to have her missing having Cat’s whole body against hers without ever having felt it before.

She had understood what the other woman had meant when she had said that being on stage was much more revealing than being found naked in the shower. Kara had seen bits and pieces of a person she would gladly spend more time with.

“I will make it worth your while, trust me.” Cat said, yet another truthful smile taking over her face. “You can bring Ash with you if you think she will make you feel more comfortable. She will have to promise to behave, though.”

“That’s fine.” Kara blurted out too quickly.

“Oh, won’t you look at that? She has met you less than three hours ago and she’s already letting go of my hand.”

Kara blushed profusely and Cat laughed.

“I think you are the one needing the hand holding, Ash.” She said as she put her shoes back on. “Don't do anything I wouldn’t do, okay? And perhaps avoid walking into other people’s showers. I do have a reputation to maintain in this city.”

“You were my first and my last, I promise”

“I don’t even know what to say to that, honestly.” Cat buttoned her shirt and reached for her phone, texting her driver to bring the car around.

“I’ll call you.” Astra and Kara said in unison.

“It would be fantastic if you two could refrain from calling at the same time. I would prefer not having to choose.” Cat winked before placing a kiss on Kara’s cheek. “Look after your aunt, will you? If memory serves me right, she has a tendency to make bad decisions.” She smiled and then left, walking backwards for a bit while waving before disappearing into the crowd.

“She’s not married, you know? And she’s bisexual.”

“And you are telling me this because…?”

“Because you are drooling, sweetheart.”


End file.
